San Diego: The Unconventional City

Book Notes

David J. Weber, Book Review Editor

San Diego: The Unconventional City. By Neil Morgan. San Diego: Morgan House, 1972. Illustrations. Map. 81 pages. Paperback. $3.95.

With works such as Westward Tilt and The California Syndrome, Neil Morgan has won national acclaim as a leading interpreter of contemporary California and the West. Perhaps the corner of the West that Morgan knows best is San Diego County. In this handsomely illustrated volume he presents an engaging and highly personal portrait of his adopted town.

San Diego: The Unconventional City consists of a sampling of essays (some have been published elsewhere, mainly in the Evening Tribune) which range over subjects as diverse as the weather, politics, business, education, recreation, childhood, old age, and romance. Whatever the subject, Morgan's smooth style and generous use of anecdotes keep the reader pushing on. And no matter how familiar with San Diego the reader is, he is certain to learn something new -- even about his own colleagues, as this reviewer did. Perhaps the only flaw in the book is that the picture which emerges of San Diego is too flattering. Sales of the book ought to be banned outside of the county limits, lest it attract still more newcomers to San Diego.

DJW